The southwest corner of the Square has traditionally been held down by a restaurant of some sort in our time, but historically the place served other purposes as well.
The building that stands at 10 South Park Street has seen more than 100,000 customers in the last 130 years, and they weren’t all looking for lunch.
From the sidewalk today, you see a three-story building on the site, but it was constructed originally as a two-story structure. That was when it was one of Mansfield’s most prominent grocery stores, for more than 30 years.
Then in 1912, the brick building grew another floor, as is evident today by the brickwork scars showing on the west side facing South Main Street.
When remodeling was completed, 10 South Park was the city’s Post Office for a brief stint. Then, from 1914 to the 1950s, it was the office and sales floor for the city’s electric company: Ohio Public Service, and Ohio Edison.
The building’s restaurant career began in 1962 when Jong Mea, the Chinese-American Restaurant, moved their kitchen from the hotel next door.
Eventually the hotel was torn down, making the restaurant the western corner of South Park St., and when Jong Mea closed in 1993, the kitchens cooked for many more happy diners at establishments like Buckeye Tony’s, and Saffron Indian Cuisine.
We are anticipating the next chapter of this tale as the page turns to Reindeer Grill.
